There are basically two types of people involved in any extreme incidents.
One type consists of those who let their emotions guide their actions, creating chaos. They are under the grand illusion that what they are doing is right and that if they don’t act, the world will fall into great danger. They go all out and act violently, regardless of any harm or problems that arise in the process.
They blindly give in to their spontaneous feelings, setting fires and swinging clubs while focusing on eradicating the ‘great calamity’ right in front of them.
Then, there are those who stand a step back from these loud, violent folks. This other group progresses quietly and secretly with their own agenda, not moving based on emotion.
They are the ones who take advantage of the situation through rational judgment and calculation. While those in a frenzy swing clubs amidst the cheers of the crowd, they silently gather items and siphon off money, quietly reaping their own gains.
At a glance, they might seem timid and not violent, but from a human perspective, these are the truly malicious ones.
Unlike those who impulsively act based on emotion, these individuals calculate in their heads. They ponder how they can gather more profit easily and comfortably.
To achieve this, they begin to exploit the situation, reaching a point where they can create situations themselves. Whether it’s right or whether such events actually happened doesn’t matter to them at all.
The purpose of those creating situations isn’t for some grim justification or a lofty mission that doesn’t help. What they desire is merely how much gain they can secure in the process.
If they could obtain significant profit, disguising an innocent person as a villain wouldn’t pose any problem for them.
While they purely pursue profit, they also possess justification. They hide their true intentions and can erase any guilt through a claim that “All of this is for justice,” a justification that everyone around gladly echoes.
And according to these standards, one of the individuals currently best at ‘utilizing’ the situation in this city is the heretic inquisitor, Lipton Eistin.
In his late 20s, Lipton has a cunning yet fierce impression, and recently, he’s been deeply troubled.
“Tch… this isn’t yielding as much profit as I thought… Initially, I could earn a few talents per case, but now I can’t even cover labor costs.”
As a heretic inquisitor, Lipton is tasked with identifying and punishing all heretics in the city.
Though he has achieved a relatively high position at a young age, showing some level of capability, he is most interested in maximizing his profits by using his power.
Born as the youngest of a poor noble family, Lipton was especially greedy for money, and for him, the role of a heretic inquisitor became an excellent weapon for accumulating wealth.
By the church’s laws, his authority to identify heretics means that anyone he designates can be classified as a heretic and punished.
Moreover, he has a number of associates under him to carry out these tasks, essentially becoming his arms and legs.
On top of that, through his unique persuasive skills and ensuing charisma, he has amassed a large following of the crowd, giving him significant influence and power in Münhel.
Currently, Lipton is fully engrossed in wielding this authority to amass wealth.
He has accumulated considerable riches while marking any person showing even the slightest sign of neglect toward the church as a heretic, immediately mobilizing the masses to raid them at night. Amid the frenzy of the angry crowd, he has successfully looted many shops.
However, lately, the efficiency of Lipton’s money-making schemes has been diminishing over time.
This isn’t due to a decrease in heretics or anything like that.
After all, he has always treated anyone with money, be it heretics or believers, as heretics without distinction, so that isn’t an issue.
The biggest reason his profits are falling is that the mob he leads has become increasingly unruly.
Originally a bit hesitant, the mob has now become completely unreserved in killing those classified as heretics, and simultaneously, they’ve taken to setting fire to attacked shops or wantonly destroying valuable goods, creating unnecessary chaos that disrupts Lipton’s ‘business’.
“If I try to rein in these already ignited mobs, they might lose their motivation… And if I lose the enthusiastic support of the crowd, it’ll be hard to continue what I’m doing now…”
Though their zeal is excessive, extinguishing their passion or mismanaging the crowd might lead to a lack of support for identifying heretics in the future.
In this uncomfortable situation, Lipton is feeling quite stuck.
At that moment, a large beer mug was placed in front of him.
“Your order is here, Inquisitor.”
“Ah… Thank you.”
As always, with a bright smile, Polena brings the mug.
Lipton slowly takes a sip, momentarily setting aside his worries, thinking it might be best to just enjoy the moment as it is.
Then…
“Is there something troubling you, Inquisitor? You don’t look too good.”
“Hmm? Oh… It’s nothing much. Just a little something on my mind… No need for you to worry about it.”
Even though the unresolved troubles linger in his mind, there’s no need to share them with this barmaid.
So, Lipton tries to brush off her question lightly.
However…
“Don’t say that, Inquisitor Lipton! You’re someone who works tirelessly to uphold the Lord’s justice, aren’t you? If you’re troubled at all, I, Polena, would like to help in any way I can.”
“Hmhm…”
It seems Lipton feels something genuine in the beautiful woman’s words.
Caught with a blush, he slightly coughs.
“Well… It’s not that I don’t have worries. But really, it’s a matter for the clergy serving the Lord. Your concern is appreciated, but I doubt you can help.”
“The clergy’s matters, you say? Ah… then maybe they could help.”
“Them?”
Polena speaks with a hint of joy.
Curiosity begins to stir in Lipton, and Polena continues brightly.
“Actually, there’s a priest staying on the second floor from another region. I’ve heard he used to work as an inquisitor like you in the past. I might not know, but those guys could be quite helpful, don’t you think?”
“Really? An inquisitor from another region…”
“Yeah, I heard he seems to have made a fair bit of money as well. They seem like quite capable folks, meeting them could be worth considering, don’t you think?”
“…Is that so?…”
From Lipton’s perspective, hearing about another inquisitor who made a lot of money is an automatic hook.
With deep curiosity, he decided to meet them, following Polena’s suggestion.
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